DEALS

Brother of Bucs' Williams surrenders in stabbing

Mike Williams meets the media after a signing a new contract with the Bucs before the 2013 season. The receiver was stabbed Sunday in a domestic incident at his Avila home, deputies said. He was treated and released from a hospital. TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO

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Eric Baylor surrendered in connection with the stabbing of his brother, Bucs WR Mike Williams. HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE

TAMPA — The brother of Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Williams turned himself in at Orient Road Jail late Monday night after a search warrant had been issued for his arrest.

Eric Baylor, 23, faces a charge of aggravated battery domestic violence after Williams was stabbed in the thigh at his Avila home. Baylor, of Buffalo, N.Y., turned himself in at Orient Road Jail at 10 p.m. Monday.

Hillsborough sheriff's deputies investigating the stabbing of Williams on Sunday said a warrant had been issued for the arrest of Williams' brother because of differing versions of what happened and the fact the brother fled the scene.

“When we got on scene, witnesses were saying it was horseplay and an accident because Mike was saying it was horseplay and an accident,” said sheriff's spokeswoman Cristal Bermudez Nuņez. “No one wanted to say what happened, because Mike was saying what happened.”

But later, when official sworn statements were taken, witnesses' accounts differed from that version, she said.

“They contradicted Mike Williams' account,” she said. “They (Williams and Baylor) were arguing and that led to the stabbing.”

After those statements were submitted — coupled with the fact that Baylor fled the scene — the warrant was issued, she said.

Williams was treated at St. Joseph's Hospital and released late Sunday, sheriff's officials said. The injury was not considered life-threatening.

The sheriff's office on Monday released the two 911 calls dispatchers received about the incidenty. One caller identifies the victim as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. The other caller said the suspect who stabbed Williams was Williams' brother.

The first caller quickly says: “I need an ambulance and the cops for one of the Buccaneers who got stabbed in the leg.”

On the second 911 call, the caller asked for “an ambulance and the police.”

“What's going on?” the dispatcher asked.

“A man just got stabbed by his brother,” the caller said.

Before the call ends, scattered voices are heard in the background. Someone shouts something about a gun and another person shouts something about a knife. Then you can hear someone shout, “Oh, my God!”

The Buccaneers are still gathering information about the incident, according to first-year general manager Jason Licht.

“We've reached out to Mike; we've yet to hear from him,” said Licht, contacted Monday at the NFL owners' meetings in Orlando. “From what I understand, he's been treated and released, so that's a good start. We're trying to gather all the facts we can. We've reached out, but we have not spoken with him yet.

“We're disappointed just that we had a player in that situation that could have been seriously injured. ... I don't know any other facts right now. We do want to find out how he is health-wise and also what his mindset is.”

Deputies were called to the gated community about 5 p.m. Sunday in response to what they were told was a stabbing, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said. When deputies arrived at Williams' home they learned he had been stabbed in the left thigh with a kitchen knife by his brother, the sheriff's office said.

Efforts Monday to reach Williams or his agent for comment regarding the stabbing incident were unsuccessful.

The most notable of those was a December 2013 incident in which Williams, 26, was charged with criminal mischief and trespassing after he caused less than $200 worth of damage to the door of a woman's Tampa home. A court hearing in that case is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Williams was also sued for causing approximately $43,000 worth of damage to a home he was renting in Lutz, where neighbors said he held late-night parties that were marked by blaring music and cars strewn around the property.

According to the lawsuit brought by landlord Warren Gold, Williams agreed to pay for $43,000 worth of damages to the home but failed to do so by the agreed upon deadline. Williams no longer resides at the spacious house in the gated Sanctuary on Livingston community.

Williams, a 2010 fourth-round draft pick out of Syracuse, signed a six-year, $40.25 million contract at the beginning of last season but missed half of season with a hamstring injury. He has started 47 of 48 games his first three years, averaging 64 catches for 910 yards and seven touchdowns.